Family planning and the Flint water crisis
Abortion, Contraception
Awarded 2019
Complex Family Planning Fellowship Research
Sheila Flaum, DO
University of Michigan
$15,000

The Flint Water Crisis exposed its citizens to contaminants of lead, fecal bacteria and legionella. We will examine the reproductive health outcomes of Flint women who were pregnant during 2014-2018 and use Flint as its own historical control. We will examine miscarriage, abortion, live birth and pregnancy rates. We will also conduct interviews with reproductive aged women who were living in Flint during the water crisis. We will interview women who were pregnant or who were preventing pregnancy through contraception. With these interviews, we will better understand Flint women’s reproductive experiences during the water crisis.